5 Summary of Week 3
This week you have seen that the confession of a suspect is not the definitive, ‘truthful’ end to a criminal investigation that we are used to seeing in fiction. Instead, confessions can be false for a number of reasons and innocent suspects can even be coerced into believing they committed a crime. Moreover, the way a suspect is interviewed, including the demeanour of the investigator and the techniques they employ, can profoundly increase the chances that a suspect will falsely confess.
You have also learned that bias means we are not the objective decision makers we like to think of ourselves as, and these biases can lead to criminal investigations focusing on and pursuing innocent suspects.
Returning to our fictional investigation, on Monday 17 February 2020 DI Bullet and DS Sund receive new evidence that causes them to make Mick Brough their prime suspect, and to prepare to arrest him.
To find out what this evidence is, and how our intrepid detectives handle it, move on to Week 4, where you will also have a chance to deploy your own investigative skills by briefing the SIO and preparing your own interview plan.
You can now go to Week 4 [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .